It's Week 9, which means that the push for the Playoffs is about to really get started. By that I mean the Fantasy Playoffs, of course. Are there any Steelers that can help you this week? Let's run them down.
Coming off a great game against the New England Patriots, I'm not sure that Ben Roesthlisberger is a smart play this week against the Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots are an elite team, but they don't have a very good defense. The Ravens have the opposite of that. Ben could have a good game, but there might be someone on your bench that could perform better against a more favorable matchup. Our pals at numberFire project him to get just over 15 points this week, which is pretty good. But it won't win you your league.
Rashard Mendenhall has not had the kind of season that Fantasy owners might have expected heading into this year. I think we all remember what happened the last time he matched up with Haloti Ngata and the Ravens defense. Hopefully you have a good backup for him, because I don't think it's a smart play.
Mike Wallace might be the best play of all the Steelers just based on the suddenness of his scoring potential. He doesn't have to have a grind-it-out game against the Ravens, which is pretty much impossible anyway. He just needs to break free for one deep ball. He might get it, he might not, but I think he has a pretty good shot. I don't trust any of the other receivers quite as much.
The Steelers defense is usually a must-play, but they have some injuries that give me pause about playing them this week. James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley are out, which means the defense has a lot less opportunity to generate sacks. If you have a good backup, use them.